Ivan
Generalić
(December 21, 1914 – November 27, 1992)
was a Croatian naïve art painter. He was born in
Hlebine near Koprivnica.
In elementary school, painting lessons were his greatest joy and
as a child he used to earn money. He mostly drew with pencil on
paper bags and some of these sketches were seen by
Krsto Hegedušić,
at the time (1930) just a student of the art academy, later a professor.
Hegedušić
was impressed with
Generalić's
work and organized
Generalić's
first public art exhibition, held in 1931 in the Zagreb Art pavilion.
Positive critiques and contacts at the time led to a new era of not
only Croatian, but also world art as well.

After World War II,
in 1945 he became a member of ULUH (society of Croatian artists).
In 1953 he exhibited in Paris, where he lived and painted for a few
months. In 1959 he painted The Deer Wedding — his most
valuable work, according to followers of the Croatian naïve
art world.

Generalić
has a large number of followers, beside his colleagues who form the
first generation —
Franjo Mraz
and
Mirko Virius.
His second generation followers are Franjo
Filipović,
Dragan Gaži,
Josip Generalić,
Ivan Večenaj.

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